A handy checklist can make all the difference when you’re buying a home. So, here’s a useful planner, where you can tick off various stages once you’ve completed them.

Good luck with your purchase and happy moving!

• Decide if you’re ready to buy
• Have you got a deposit saved up?
• Work out how much you can afford to spend
• Find the best mortgage offer for you
• Get an offer lined up from a lender
• Work out other costs you’ll have to cover
• Meet and register with estate agents
• Consider hiring a property search agent (if appropriate)
• Match a property to how you live
• Consider old vs new homes
• Weigh up ‘free’ offers or incentives from developers or private vendors
• Ask about service charges
• Check out parking, storage and council tax
• Consider doing up a wreck, buying at auction or with a friend or family member
• Think about government-supported shared ownership schemes, such as FirstBuy
• Work out a ‘home triangle’: budget, space and location
• Draw up ‘would like’ and ‘really need’ lists
• Consider extending your search if you can’t find anything within your budget
• Ask agents to show you ‘comparables’ (prices of similar property in the area)
• Research prices paid recently for properties in the area and current home value trends.
• Check out crime rates, transport links and whether prices have risen or fallen
• Choose a solicitor
• If buying with a friend or partner, get a co-ownership agreement drawn up
• Ask to see the Energy Performance Certificate for the property
• Make enquiries if buying a leasehold flat (who’s the freeholder and managing agent, how much are ground fees and service charges, can you keep pets?)
• Make an offer in writing
• Ask for an exclusivity period, if possible (so the seller doesn’t show the property to anyone else)
• Agree a date when the vendor moves out and you move in
• Show proof that the lender will give you money (if getting a mortgage)
• Check the solicitor is making enquiries and getting title deed information
• Choose a surveyor
• Organise a survey or valuation
• Set the completion date
• Book a van or removals company
• Inform authorities (such as utility companies, Electoral Roll, your employer and Inland Revenue) of your new address
• Contact the council to suspend a parking bay for the removal van
• Get the mortgage deed for the solicitor to sign
• Sign contracts for exchange
• Pay the balance of the property’s price
• Get the transfer document and title deeds
• Take out building and contents insurance
• Pay stamp duty, Land Registry and solicitor’s fees
• Check your insurer covers you for any damage while moving
• Tell the removals company about narrow roads or unusual directions
• Pack, ensuring fragile items are well wrapped
• Label each box with a number or letter corresponding to the room where it will go
• Pack a ‘moving box’ with essentials including tea, cleaning materials and a bottle of bubbly
• Keep passports and other vital items with you
• Pack a bag for each person with a toothbrush and change of clothing
• Get someone to mind your pets (or make sure they’re secure)
• Get the keys to the property
• Enjoy living in your new home!